The Schedule
Game No. 14
UC San Diego Tritons (11-2, 4-0) at Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes (6-4, 4-0)
Friday, January 9, 2009
Coussoulis Arena (4,140) ? 5:30 pm

Game No. 15
UC San Diego Tritons (11-2, 4-0) at Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (8-5, 4-0)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Kellogg Gym (5,000) ? 5:30 pm

First Things First
Winners of four straight and 10 of their last 11 overall, the UC San Diego women's basketball team will look to remain perfect in California Collegiate Athletic Association play on the road this weekend. The Tritons will travel to Cal State San Bernardino to battle the Coyotes on Friday, before heading to Cal Poly Pomona for a date with the Broncos on Saturday. As is the case with all conference games, both contests will tipoff at 5:30 p.m.

For The Record
UCSD enters Friday's matchup with San Bernardino sporting an overall record of 11-2 and a 4-0 conference mark after sweeping a pair of home games against Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills over the weekend. The Tritons completed their seven-game homestand with an impressive record of 6-1 with the victory over the Toros and have now won 10 of their last 11 games against CCAA foes, dating back to last season. UCSD, which will play its first road contest in over a month on Friday, is 4-1 away from home this season.

Big Games Ahead
The Tritons, Coyotes, and Broncos begin the third week of CCAA play in a three-way tie for first place in the conference standings, as all three own 4-0 league records thus far. Cal State San Bernardino will host Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, with the winner claiming sole possession of first place entering its matchup with UCSD. If the Tritons can win both games this weekend, they will have the top spot as the CCAA's only unbeaten team in conference play.

The Week That Was
UCSD held Cal State L.A. to just 17 points in the first half last Friday, taking a 23-point halftime lead, before cruising to the 79-59 victory. UCSD shot just 37% for the game, but recorded 21 assists on 26 field goals and made a season-high seven three-pointers. Defensively, the Tritons forced CSULA into 24 turnovers and finished with 15 steals, which was their second-highest total this season. Things weren't as easy against Cal State Dominguez Hills the next night, as UCSD trailed 28-25 at the break, just its second halftime deficit of the season. The Tritons responded in the second stanza, outscoring the Toros 41-28 and went on to win by 10, 66-56. UCSD shot 54% in the decisive final stanza, while limiting CSUDH to a mere 30%.

Scouting The Coyotes
Cal State San Bernardino enters Thursday's showdown with Pomona with an overall record of 6-4 following a pair of wins over Cal State Stanislaus (46-43 OT) and Chico State (68-67) last week. The Coyotes rank ninth in the CCAA averaging 59.3 points per game,  but own the league's third-ranked defense, allowing 59.6. Junior guard Krystal Urzua is the conference's leading scorer at 17.0 points per game, while senior forward Jaclyn Rainville has averaged of 10.8 points and 8.5 rebounds through 10 games, respectively. UCSD leads the all-time series with CSUSB 18-15 after defeating the Coyotes three times last season, including a convincing 59-46 victory in the first round of the NCAA Division II West Regional.

Scouting The Broncos
Cal Poly Pomona also knocked off Chico State (65-61) and Cal State Stanislaus (65-56) last week to improve to 8-5 overall entering Thursday's matchup with the Coyotes. Riding a six game winning streak after starting the season 2-5, the Broncos are sixth in the CCAA averaging 62.2 points per game, while giving up 60.1 on the other end, a figure that ranks fourth. Sophomore guard Reyana Colson leads the squad in scoring at 15.8 points per game, while freshman forward Megan Ford is second, averaging 11.1 points per night to go with a team-high 7.5 rebounds. Pomona has won nine of 16 previous meetings with UCSD, including both contests in 2008-09.

Forward Thinking
Senior forward Michelle Osier is in the midst of another brilliant campaign for the Tritons this season, averaging team-highs of 16.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.7 steals through 13 games. She is shooting 55% from the field, which is also tops on the squad, and has scored 20 or more points on five occasions. Osier continued to fill up the stat sheet against Cal State L.A. last week, tallying 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals in just 20 minutes. She finished with just nine points on 3-of-10 shooting against Cal State Dominguez Hills the next night, which snapped a streak of 22 consecutive games with at least 10 points. The Placerville, Calif. native didn't let the constant double and triple teams affect her on the other end though, hauling in nine boards to help the Tritons defeat the Toros.

She Got Game
Annette Ilg was named UCSD's Female Athlete of the Week on Monday after averaging 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.0 steals to lead the Tritons to a pair of conference victories last week. The junior guard scored a team-high 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting and finished with three rebounds, three assists, and three steals in the win over Cal State L.A. and turned in another solid effort the next night, tallying 14 points, four boards, four assists, and three thefts to help UCSD erase a halftime deficit and defeat Cal State Dominguez Hills. The native of Avon Lake, Ohio led the team in scoring, assists, and steals for the week and is now fourth on the team averaging 10.6 points per game overall. Ilg leads the team with 12 three-pointers made this season.

Point Taken
Since making her season debut on Dec. 20, freshman point guard Chelsea Carlisle has been very productive off the bench in the last five games. The Agoura Hills, Calif. native enters Friday's contest averaging 11.8 points 4.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per game. Carlisle was 5-of-11 from the floor, including 3-of-8 from behind the three-point arc, for a team-high 15 points against the Golden Eagles and finished with eight points, four assists, and two steals against the Toros the next day. In just five games with the team, she leads the squad in assists and is second in scoring.

Osier Watch
Michelle Osier enters Friday's contest just 573 points shy of becoming UCSD's all-time leading scorer. The Placerville, Calif. native began the season with 1257 points for her career and has scored exactly 220 through 13 games in 2008-09. With 21 points against Western Washington on Nov. 22, she passed Ali Ginn (2000-04) for second on the all-time charts and now trails only Leora Juster's (2003-07) career mark of 2049. Osier is also currently second among the Tritons' all-time rebounding leaders with a total of 1,007 boards for her career. She needs 32 to surpass Mary Egan's mark of 1038 career rebounds, a record that has stood since 1982.

UCSD Adds Forward Amy Griffith For 2009-10
UCSD has signed Amy Griffith to a National Letter of Intent during the early signing period, head coach Charity Elliott announced on Monday, November 25. A 6'1” forward/center from Saratoga, Calif., Griffith is entering her senior season at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, where she averaged 10 points, eight rebounds, and two steals as a junior last season. Named the team's Most Improved Player in 2007-08, she has played an instrumental role in guiding the Warriors to consecutive Central Coast Section Championships the last two seasons. VCHS went 27-7 overall and advanced to NorCal semifinals last year. The tallest player on Valley Christian's roster, Griffith can post up on the block or attack the basket off the dribble Elliott said.

Tritons Picked To Finish Second In CCAA Coaches Poll
UCSD was selected to finish second in the CCAA standings in the league's annual coaches poll. Defending champion Chico State was tabbed to repeat, receiving seven of the 11 first place votes and 96 total points to capture the top spot in the poll. After finishing third in the CCAA standings last season at 14-6, the Tritons received three first place votes and 85 points. Humboldt State received 70 points to finish third, while Sonoma State earned the fourth place nod with 63 points. San Francisco State finished fifth, with Cal State San Bernardino, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State L.A., Cal State Stanislaus, and Cal State Monterey Bay rounding out the poll, respectively.